Afghan President Hamid Karzai has signed orders for the execution of five men convicted of rape and armed robbery.

The incident, which sparked nationwide outrage, occurred on August 29 on the outskirts of the capital, Kabul, as a family was returning from a wedding ceremony.

The police said the men stopped the victims' cars and raped four women before robbing the family. One of the victims was pregnant and died several days later.

Aimal Faizi, Karzai's spokesman, wrote on Twitter on September 27 that "President Karzai signed off today on the order for execution of five criminals convicted of rape and kidnapping in [the] Paghman [district] incident."

The five had been sentenced to death in swift trials earlier this month.

An appeals court on September 15 overturned death sentences against two other men in the same case due to insufficient evidence, condemning them to 20 years in prison instead.